While the crossbow spots the highest per-shot damage out of all weapons (sufficient to take out most enemies in a single hit), it's below-average rate of fire and tiny projectiles make it rather problematic to use against masses of enemies.

Shot bolts stick in the walls for several seconds, and can be jumped upon to reach higher spots. While landing on a stuck bolt is a rather tricky task, with certain skill (and a few extra jumps) this can be used to climb completely vertical walls by shooting the bolts slightly under yourself while jumping (thus landing on a "tail" of a new bolt after each jump).